Why I guard my private life jealously—Rita Dominic

With twelve years in the industry on her record, beautiful actress Rita Dominic is still very much on top of her game as far as Nollywood is concerned. Known for her glam over the years, it was like a bolt from the blue when she played a drug addict in Shattered, the movie that won her Best Actress on the continent. She repeated the same feat in her first-ever co-produced film, The Meeting, which premiered recently. In this interview with MERCY MICHAEL, the actress reveals her decision to delve into film production. She also talks about growing up and dealing with controversies.

WOULD you say The Meeting is the role you have been waiting for?

This and more maybe because Shattered was a lead role, The Meeting is not a lead role. However, The Meeting is completely different. I have never played a fifty-year-old. I have never played a cantankerous Clara Ikemba. With Shattered, the character was young so I could relate to the youthfulness but they are all different and unique in their own way. That is why I said this and many more.

Last year I did a lot of challenging roles; the film that won me the Best Actress at the African Movie Academy Award was a Kenyan film. Before I shot that film I had never been challenged like that in my career. I played a drug addict. I played a woman who had been sexually abused. I also played someone who had mental retardation. I had to learn how to speak a little bit of Swahili, I had to learn how to talk like an educated Kenyan, not a Nigerian. That was very challenging.

After that I shot a film titled Streets of Calabar. I don’t think I should be talking about the character because I think they are still hiding what it is I played for now. The character I played too was very challenging. And then there is The Meeting, where I played a fifty-year- old. That really challenged me. Over the last two years, I have been staying away and concentrating on my career because I needed to take it to a certain level.

Don’t you find it condescending that you played a minor role after so many leads?

What matters to me is the story. My first nomination at the AMAA was as Best Supporting Actress for the film White Waters. I attended the event. I was happy I was nominated. I enjoyed the show even though I didn’t win. I mean it went to a veteran, Joke Silva, who of course should have won it from the same film. I don’t like forcing myself to play a role I don’t fit into. It’s like forcing me to play the role Linda Ejiofor played in my film, the Ejira character who is in her early 20s. I don’t look like someone in their early 20s, so why will I force myself to play that?

Having spent twelve years in the movie industry, what informed your decision to go into production?

I just felt it was time. I wanted to do something for the industry as well. I wanted to give something back to an industry which has done so much for me. In The Meeting, you will see that I did not play the lead role. We had Linda Ejiofor and Femi Jacobs play the lead. These are two upcoming, talented acts who needed to be encouraged. Of course, after acting for so many years in the industry, you want to try other aspects of filmmaking. I knew I always wanted to try production and I felt last year was the right time.

So how easy was it being a producer and an actor at the same time in the same movie?

It was very difficult being an actor in the same film that you produced for the first time and playing a complex character at that. To be honest, I didn’t want to do it. I had an argument with my business partner. I told her I couldn’t do it because it’s my first time. How do I play a Clara Ikemba that is so complex and at the same time concentrate on producing this film of such a quality? However, I sat down and I thought to myself, maybe I should just take on this character, see what I can do with Clara Ikemba and that was it.

As a first time producer, what would you say was your greatest challenge?

Playing Clara Ikemba I would say was the most challenging for me. Clara Ikemba, the woman is cantankerous. She’s not somebody you can mess around with. She’s a very complex character, a strange person, especially for me, even though I feel every human being living in Nigeria or Africa must have had an encounter with a Clara Ikemba. She was just a difficult person really and having to play that role and at the same time concentrating on executing a quality project, it was just so difficult doing that.

Having acted and produced, are you considering going into directing?

(Laughs) Never say never. Who knows?

Twelve years down the line, what has been your staying power?

I keep reminding myself that I don’t know everything. I never get comfortable. I keep learning. I have never said to myself I know how to act everything, I know how to do everything so I’m not going to learn. I learn every day. The moment I start telling myself I know everything about acting and filmmaking, I think that will be the beginning of my downfall.

Coming from parents who are medical practitioners, how easy was it convincing your parents that you wanted to study theatre?

Funny enough, I had all the encouragement I needed when I was a kid. I have done this since I was five. There was never any objection. I still remember my mother buying me books, getting me prepared for all the variety shows for the weekend. When I come back from school, I do my home work after which we start preparing for the variety shows for the weekend.

Is it true that you are a Princess?

Am I? I don’t know ooo.

What was life like growing up?

It was fun growing up. I am the last child. My elder ones were not born here, they were all born and brought up partly in the UK. I was the only one born here and raised here. I grew up with my cousins. A lot of my cousins were leaving with us. So I grew up with them. It was a fun childhood. I was just a normal kid.

After many years of acting, you still come across as being an introvert. Why is that?

Are you serious? That’s just me. The Rita you see in movies is different. That is acting. This is me.

Recalling the scenario at the last AMAA awards where you walked away from the paparazzi, is it right to say you are shy or just a snob?

I’m a very shy person. People don’t believe it because I’m an actor. Actors are the most shy people in the world because we get to hide behind characters. We are comfortable playing those characters we hide behind. When it is time for us to be ourselves, we are usually shy. I told a friend that I have different personalities. When I’m on the red carpet, I have to wear a certain personality.

So it wasn’t a case of trying to avoid the media?

No, I wasn’t avoiding the press. I had a chaperon who was pulling me. Even my manager was upset with her for not letting me grant the press audience. However, she didn’t do that on purpose. She didn’t actually know. She’s new in the industry.

Are you surprised that after over a decade in the industry, the only award that gave you the continental honour came from Kenya?

I am not surprised. Because of how thorough AMAA is with the screening and the criteria, I always felt when you do a good film you will be recognised for it, whether in Nigeria, Kenya or elsewhere. I put in a lot of work in that film because I love the character, I love the story. It could have still easily been a Nigerian story. It doesn’t have to do with being a Kenyan film. I just felt that at that point in time maybe that was the first of the films that I had done in recent time that I have come out that AMAA saw and they felt it was time to award me for that.

You were quoted as saying that you never believed you could still be relevant in the new Nollywood. How true is that?

I don’t actually remember that interview, but it’s actually true. I really never believed I would still be relevant in this industry. I mean you have a lot of beautiful and upcoming talents, so what makes people like me and my colleagues special? There is nothing special about us. It is the grace of God. You are here today interviewing me, I have The Meeting coming out, there is Shattered out there. It’s the grace of God. You have people like Linda Ejiofor who are very talented. Tonto Dikeh is very talented. Mercy Johnson is very talented, but I am still relevant.

When you started out, did you plan for it to be a short stay?

I didn’t plan for it to be a short stay. I just wanted to keep doing my job as an actor and leave the rest to God. As each year passes by I find myself getting bigger and more relevant. To be honest, it is God because there are still some actors and actresses who are much more talented than I am that are not relevant anymore. So why am I relevant? It’s not that I’m more talented than they are. It is just God.

You had an outlandish 37th birthday recently. How do you balance that with your kind of person?

I didn’t o. It was a surprise. I was on set shooting Lion of 76, Izu Ojukwu’s film, in Ibadan. It was not my idea. The cast put it together for me on set.

And it turned out big?

Was it big? It was just the cast and crew members. We didn’t invite people. Maybe what you saw was photo effect.

How did you feel about it?

I cried. Ibinabo was on the same set with me, and another girl who is a Zimbabwean, an up and coming actress. She’s a film producer as well. They put together the surprise party with the help of the executive producer. I didn’t even know what was going on. They just took me into one hall because I was just dressed up for us to go and have dinner from set. Next thing they took me into one hall, the cast, crew members were there. It was just so touching. Ibadan is such a quiet town. They went out of their way to organise a party for me even with the little resources they could find in Ibadan. I felt touched.

Does being the Best Actress on the continent put you under pressure?

Yes, it does because I’m constantly looking to do a film better than Shattered, the film which won me the award.

If you were to put any other film on that pedestal, what film will that be?

I would say my film, The Meeting. I would say Streets of Calabar produced, directed by Charles Anagolo, former BBC and CNN reporter, shot with some actors from the UK in Calabar and London. I would say Lion of 76, an Izu Ojukwu production. I acted alongside Ramsey Nouah and Chidi Mokeme. We were in Ibadan filming for about five months. So these are all the projects I’ve done.

Apart from the recent birthday surprise, what is the biggest surprise you’ve had in recent time?

I can’t remember. To be honest I think I’ve had a lot that I can’t even place a finger on one right now. No one just comes to mind.

What’s the best birthday gift you’ve had?

That is personal. Just leave it (laughs).

What is style to you?

Comfort! I love to be comfortable first. I feel when you are comfortable with what you are wearing the confidence will come from the inside. You are not comfortable and you are pulling up, you won’t be confident. First and foremost, it is all about comfort.

Tell us about your beauty regime.

I work out a lot and I go to the spa. I love the spa, the scrubs and body treatment. And I remove toxins from my system regularly. When you sweat you remove toxins. And I drink a lot of water. That is really it.

As a celebrity you’ve had your fair share of controversies. How have you been able to handle controversies?

I guard my private life jealously. At the end of the day, I already lived my life for my fans so the little I can guard, I guard it jealously. I just try to keep my life private.